Calderdale falls silent on Armistice Day

Calderdale fell silent at 11am in remembrance of the men, women and children who lost their lives in both world wars, as well as in more recent conflicts.

Children from Bradshaw Primary school were escorted to the cenotaph at St John’s Church for the two minutes silence by head Tracy Turner, members of the Royal British Legion (Illingworth & Bradshaw division) as well as past and present members of the army.

They were met by the Vicar and congregation from St John’s Church for a poignant remembrance service and hymns.

Children from Year 6 laid wreaths and the Last Post was played.

Schools, offices and churches up and down the country took part in the two minutes’ silence at 11am, marking the time when Allied Forces declared an end to fighting with Germany 97 years ago.

Veterans and their families joined serving military personnel at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall, where singer Cerys Matthews read an extract from the Times newspaper from October 1915 about the deaths of 41 only-sons in battle.

The Queen marked the two minutes’ silence privately at Buckingham Palace with her family.

The Princess Royal attended Armistice Day commemorations at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

In Trafalgar Square, 91-year-old Second World War veteran Danny McCrudden sang The Impossible Dream to crowds gathered ahead of the silence.

The world’s last remaining Swordfish aeroplane dropped thousands of poppies over the remembrance service at St Bartholomew’s Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church in Yeovilton, Somerset.

The silence was observed at the Royal Courts of Justice in London - which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Some judges suspended hearings shortly before 11am so that lawyers and members of the public could stand in silence outside courtrooms. Others halted proceedings at 11am but remained in court.

The Princess Royal, wearing three poppies on the shoulder of her overcoat, read a passage from the Bible during the service at the Armed Forces Memorial.

Following the service, attended by around 500 people, Anne was shown some of the 16,000 names carved into the Portland stone memorial, commemorating service personnel killed in the line of duty since 1948.

D-Day veteran Ken Todd, from Oswestry in Shropshire, was visiting the memorial for the first time for the first time.

The 90-year-old, who served on gunboats which delivered around 250 engineers to Sword Beach, said Armistice Day and similar commemorations were always highly emotional for veterans.

The former Royal Marine only discovered at a D-Day commemoration in 2009 that all the engineers he helped to land on Sword Beach had survived.

Speaking after the service in Alrewas, Staffordshire, the veteran said: “On the 65th anniversary of D-Day I went back over there and I was told all the engineers got out.

“That was very, very emotional for me.”

Later today, 19 British veterans will be presented with the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest distinction, for their role in liberating France during the Second World War.

The medals will be presented by the French Ambassador Sylvie Bermann in a ceremony at her residence in Kensington, London.